We were very fortunate with a sunny though chilly day for our RPS outing to Hunstanton and an abundance of waders to keep the cameras clicking. The Oystercatchers were present in the largest numbers so here is a day in their life from warming in the morning sunshine, searching for good spots to rest, joining large flocks at high tide, to feeding as the tide and the sun go down.
I returned to Hunstanton beach on Monday morning before heading home and spent a couple of hours in beautiful light with thousands and thousands of birds as subjects. The tide was going out revealing the extensive mussel beds and the tidal sands full of invertebrate food. Oystercatchers were the most numerous so here some cameos of this striking bird. The distant shot was part of a failed attempt to focus stack the huge flocks!
Fulmars are one of the British birds that have steadily increased in recent years and Hunstanton cliffs certainly support this with many more birds there this visit than previous. Adults spend a large portion of their lives at sea, returning in November to set up territories. Eggs are laid in May. In July, the parents depart to resume their oceanic wandering, leaving the chick to fend for itself. By early September, the youngster will be ready to follow in the wake of its parents. Young birds spend the first four or five years of their lives at sea, and do not reach maturity until they are eight or nine years old but they may live for up to forty years. Here a few shots from Saturday's visit.
